by paterson » Sat Dec 29, 2018 11:29 am
Had a chance to listen to The Breeze Vancouver for a couple of evenings during the 15% alternative music segment that they committed to when they applied for the license to the CRTC. The upside it sounds like this is a three hour segment since both nights I listened it was 9 to midnight.
To me it is not all bad, liked the way they promoted this part of the day as the "evening breeze." Some of the music was actually pretty interesting but a little heavy on the instrumental side. Smooth Jazz is not all Kenny G sounding instrumental material.
If they are committed to do this they should make a bigger deal of it and at least INCLUDE THESE SONGS IN THE RECENTLY PLAYED TAB! Nothing from 9 to midnight listed when I checked. Not a good move, would have been nice to see who they are playing. As I said some of the cuts were pretty good to my taste, but didn't know artist or song, and sadly the "evening breeze" wasn't even voice tracked. In the car, many vehicles still are not able to pick up song information if the signal is encrypted.
CBC Radio One has a jazz program at 10pm, so the Breeze has an hour jump on them, a little advantage if they promote this segment. In fact I think they have a real chance to skim off some of the large Radio One audience in other dayparts. Even CBC Radio One listeners listen to music at some point.
Call me crazy.. but since this only represents a 15% of the music played, much of the it could actually be incorporated into the day (except mornings). Unless the promise of performance was for a specific block of music, which often it is not, with a little work and creativity this could be worked easily into the format. Would only be one or two songs per hour. This way after 9pm the station would sound similar to the rest of the day...And with the smooth jazz incorporated and not ignored (jocks should treat this music like the rest), the station would truly be "The Breeze." They could really do well with this!
As I mentioned before The Breeze Philadelphia is already getting quite a bit of blow back on their comment page regarding overplaying of the same artists and songs, after only seven weeks with the format. So in reality the 15% alternative music could be a great thing for Vancouver, if they are smart and handle it properly.
In terms of Edmonton, which I assume plays 35% cancon and no specialty music required, the only thing I would look at would be a few more country cross over songs in the mix which would help keep the sound fresh. Folks like Faith Hill, Brent Kissel, Carrie Underwood, Shinia etc. Not a lot, just a sprinkling throughout..and again treat this material the same as all the other music. The spring ratings will be interesting.